High sugar foods that are targeted at children should be treated ‘like cigarettes’ and be in plain packaging, an expert on obesity has said.

HSE Lead for Obesity Professor Donal O’Shea said obesity is now the biggest driver of ill-health in society.

Plain packaging involves removing all branding and standardises the packaging to a uniform colour and design.

Prof O’Shea told Newstalk Breakfast a change in the law would also remove sugary foods from children’s eye level.

“I would introduce legislation so that the high fat, high salt, high sugar foods that the food and drinks industry are targeting at our three-year-olds, five-year-olds and 12-year-olds would be treated a bit like cigarettes,” he said.

“They would be invisible, they wouldn’t be at eye level for the child, they wouldn’t be wrapped in packaging that is very specifically targeted to the age group that the product is designed for.

“We need to learn the lesson from the tobacco battle, if you like.”

‘Name on bottle’ campaign

Recent research finds one-in-five primary school children in Ireland are overweight or living with obesity.

Prof O’Shea said we have to look at approaches that work to tackle the issue.

“We need to just take it head on and do what works; and we know that plain packaging reduces the attraction of items,” he said.

“Coca-Cola [has] been involved with advertising brand management for over 100 years.

“When they launched their ‘name on bottle’ campaign back in 2011 it became the most successful campaign ever [and] reversed the downtrend in consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks.

“If you had plain packaging that ‘name on bottle’ campaign just couldn’t happen”.

‘It drives massive disease’

Prof O’Shea said childhood obesity has knock-on effects for the rest of a person’s life.

“Childhood overweight and obesity tracks into adulthood and it drives massive disease,” he said.

“Initiatives like plain packaging will reduce consumption and the pattern of consumption”.

Prof O’Shea said people who may criticise the suggestion should have an alternative approach.

“We need to have the discussion and I think anyone who’s saying that needs to come up with an alterative to allowing the food and drinks industry to pedal food-like products that are wrapped in the most attractive, targeted packaging,” he said.

“Just walk into Barack Obama Plaza to pay for your petrol and see what you’re walking through”.

Prof O’Shea added that Portugal has already introduced a similar plain packaging scheme in certain places.

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The report highlighted that confectionery was the third most commonly stolen item – behind meat and alcohol – a possible indicator that confectionery is not the affordable treat it once was.

Sugar prices have rocketed – as sugar production is labour intensive. Despite challenging economic times, the sugar confectionery market has grown by almost 10% in the last year.

Organised shoplifting can account for up to 96% of items stolen. The most commonly targeted items in convenience stores are:

-Cigarettes

-Energy drinks

-High-end liquor

-Infant formula

-Allergy medicine

-Pain relievers

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The bank says that while other age groups mainly decreased their July spending, teenagers are clearly enjoying their summer holidays with a major spending increase of +17% for the month, a trend which was also reflected in June.

There was an uptick in social (+2%) spending throughout July, whilst spending in pubs (+4%), restaurants (+3%) and in fast-food outlets (+1%) all recorded positive figures – having all posted negative spending stats in June. The improved July weather also saw a spending hike in cinemas of just +5%, a stark drop from June’s cinema spending rise of +25%.

Overall spending in the Retail sector was down 3% in total, with outlay on clothing (-10%) and groceries (-1%) both dropping, but spending on petrol (+5%) rose as forecourt fuel prices levelled off somewhat nationwide. Consumers were also evidently not keen to forego their sweet treats in July, with spending in bakeries (+5%) also rising.

On a regional level the spending patterns were broadly flat, with similar spending levels being recorded in Limerick (-3%), Cork (-2%), Kildare (-1%), Mayo (-1%), Donegal (-1%) and Waterford (-1%). Foreign spending rose in popular European hotspots like Croatia (+28%), Portugal (+9%) and Italy (+5%), whilst intense heatwaves in the likes of Cyprus (-13%) and Turkey (-3%) saw a spending drop off in both countries as some holiday makers opted to visit different destinations.

Commenting on July’s spending data, Jilly Clarkin, Head of Customer Journeys & SME Markets at Bank of Ireland said: “The sun was shining in July and we were doing less shopping and more socialising.

“However, the spending picture was a mixed one last month, with some sectors performing well and others flat lining or dropping slightly. This spending restraint was not just in a small number of counties, it was nationwide – and while the overall drop was small, it will be interesting to monitor over the coming months to determine if it’s becoming a trend.

“For the Irish abroad, Croatia was leading the charge in month on month spending increases in popular holiday destinations. Another interesting element in July was that spending among teenagers (13 – 17 year olds) soared, with a notable monthly increase of +17%, which was similar to May and June trends and perhaps reflects a less cautious attitude than the rest of us”.

BoI debit and credit card transactions – July 2022 vs. June 2022

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